Sampling!
So earlier today, I put my iTunes on shuffle, and this song came on. Then I decided to make a mixed CD about sampling... and THEN I decided I'd make an EPIC BLOG ENTRY to share stories and examples of sampling.
Let's get started!
1. "Amores Como El Nuestro" by Jerry Rivera, a Boriqueño salsero known as "El Bebé de la Salsa" in the early 1990s. When I was in the hospital a couple months ago, one of my favorite nurses was named Jerry Rivera. I need to go visit the hospital... he wanted to hit it, I know it. I digress. I don't know if this song was a hit or not, but it's decent. And it should sound familiar, because those trumpets were sampled twelve years later for:
2. "Dance Like This" by Wyclef Jean feat. Claudette Ortiz. This was prominent in the 2004 "Havana Nights" follow-up to Dirty Dancing. I think it's interesting to hear this version of the song before it became much more popular two years later as:
3. "Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira feat. Wyclef. This was probably my favorite song in 2006. Too bad Shakira didn't reallllly ask for permission from Rivera before sampling it. But it was OK for Wyclef in 2004 so it should have been fine right? Right. Come on let's go... real slow... don't you see baby asi es perfecto.
Let's go back a bit, to a time when sampling was REAL popular. I won't take us alllllll the way back to the beginning of sampling, because that's not the focus of what I'm doing right now. I just feel like sharing. SBI.
4. "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie. I don't really have a story about this one, except for that neither Freddie Mercury nor David Bowie received credits or royalties for what came in 1990:
5. "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice. Did you know his real name is Robert Van Winkle? That's just too bad. He wrote this song about his life in Florida, and when he manages to rhyme "bikinis" with "Lamborghinis," I want to move back to FL. Let's get out of here. word to your mother.
6. "Super Freak" by Rick James. I hadn't seen the music video for this until now, and it makes me nostalgic for simpler times. By simpler times, I mean the time when all you needed for a decent music video was a plain white backdrop and lots of glitter. This song makes me think of three things. (1) Little Miss Sunshine (2) "I'm Rick James, Bitch!" and (3) parachute pants. Why the parachute pants?
7. "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer. Every once in a while, I see a STOP sign that some amature graffiti artist amended with "HAMMER TIME." That makes me happy. Did you ever see the flashmob done to this song? That makes me happy too. Check it out here.
8. "Edge of Seventeen" by Stevie Nicks. This just goes to show that if you have access to a white tablecloth, you can do a Stevie Nicks impression. Try THAT at your next karaoke night, I know I will. I actually like this live performance best, but it's not on YouTube. It also really bothers me that Lindsay Lohan tried to cover this song. I mean I know they both did a lot of coke, but it's still not really okay. I also cannot believe NIcks allowed this next one to happen:
9. "Bootylicious" by Destiny's Child. What's really amazing is that Nicks not only condoned this sample, but actually appears in the music video! I wish I had the airbrushed "Destiny's Child" underwear that some of the guys are wearing. I love this video. It feels like a sexy Target commercial. I could watch it all day. And sometimes I have.
Speaking of Beyoncé...
10. "Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So)" by The Chi-Lites. This band was called The Chi-Lites. Like they really had any chance of success with that. This song peaked at number 82 on the charts in 1970. Nothing amazing but it's cool, it's funky, and it led to:
11. "Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z. Cool that Beyoncé and Jay-Z have been together for so long. I loved this song when it came out, and I still like it better than all that Sasha Fierce nonsense.
Okay the next one is a bit of a stretch, but work with me.
12. "The Last Time" by The Rolling Stones. Okay, so after you listen to this song, try to imagine it recorded by an orchestra. I guess sometime in the 60's, some musical experiment resulted in an orchestrated version of this song, and I think its pretty hard to make the connection between the two versions. This orchestrated version disappeared for 30 years, but resurfaced as:
13. "Bitter Sweet Symphony" by The Verve. Here's where sampling law gets real confusing: The Verve negotiated a license to sample the orchestrated recording, but apparently they used "too much" of the sample. What exactly is "too much"? I know on The Price Is Right, there's a game where you they show you increasing fake prices for a car, and when the price isn't right anymore, you're supposed to yell "THAT'S TOO MUCH BOB!" That's only for about $20,000 though... and the Verve lost a lot more than 20 grand on this song. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were eventually given songwriting credits, and when the was nominated for a Grammy, the nomination went to Jagger/Richards. The Verve is collecting 0% of the royalties for this song. How's THAT for Bittersweet?!
14. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" by ABBA. Don't you just love songs with a hidden message? This ain't one of 'em, but the blatantly obvious message is great. I mean, sometimes we really ARE just watching the late show alone, and all we want is a man after midnight. I feel that. Bonus points if you know what ABBA stands for.
15. "Hung Up" by Madonna. This was the first and only time that ABBA allowed sampling. This music video is pretty fierce too... Madonna is HOT despite her age. No wonder she could score with A-Rod and Jesus Luz. I read somewhere that she had broken her leg or something when filming this video, but she was hardcore and survived the shoot with lots of Vicodin. I DEFINITELY feel that.
The next ones aren't realllllly sampling, but I think this series is relevant.
16. "Fade to Grey" by Visage. This song sounds futuristic even today. Well not really, but I'm sure it sounded super futuristic coming out of the hi-fi under your Patrick Nagel prints. The video, however, is not only dated, but straight up TWISTED. The imagery will haunt my dreams for weeks. You may want to avoid this video if you're on any medications.
17. "One Word" by Kelly Osbourne. This isn't really a case of sampling, but the songs are VERY similar. There may have been a lawsuit, but there was an out-of-court settlement to give Visage a portion of the royalties for this song. This original version of the song isn't amazing, but I am all about the Chris Cox remix. This brings me back to 2006, dancing at Rage in West Hollywood. Good times.
18. "Stop! Dimentica!" by Tiziano Ferro. Also in 2006, this song was released in Italy. It hit #1 on the Italian singles charts. Also not a case of sampling, but sounds extremely similar (even sharing lyrical themes) to both Osbourne's hit and the original Visage track. Tiziano Ferro also recorded it in Spanish, a version I actually prefer, only because that's how it first came into my life, at a club night in Tijuana.
I saved the best for last.
19. "Wonderful Christmas Time" by Paul McCartney. When did McCartney get so... FUNKY?! This is unlike any other Christmas song I've ever heard. It's just so... funky. I don't know what other word to use for it. I always chuckle to myself whenever I hear it on the radio in December, because of what it was eventually used for. I am SURE this was unauthorized:
20. "Fast Food Fucking" by 1108 Thugz. So obscure that I could not even find this on YouTube, 1108 Thugz are definitely underappreciated. "Some bitches feel like a nut, some bitches don't. This bitch liked to take it up the butt and down her throat. I'm fuckin' all the bitches in the fast food biz'... they all want my balls in their mouth, and that's just how it is." You'll just have to go to their Myspace page and listen to this song. It's pretty much amazing, and it's available on iTunes. I actually recommend listening to everything they have ever recorded, especially "Toss My Salad." If you were actually a fan of the Christmas song... well I'm sorry for ruining it for you. I can't even what McCartney would say if he heard this.
Let's get started!
1. "Amores Como El Nuestro" by Jerry Rivera, a Boriqueño salsero known as "El Bebé de la Salsa" in the early 1990s. When I was in the hospital a couple months ago, one of my favorite nurses was named Jerry Rivera. I need to go visit the hospital... he wanted to hit it, I know it. I digress. I don't know if this song was a hit or not, but it's decent. And it should sound familiar, because those trumpets were sampled twelve years later for:
2. "Dance Like This" by Wyclef Jean feat. Claudette Ortiz. This was prominent in the 2004 "Havana Nights" follow-up to Dirty Dancing. I think it's interesting to hear this version of the song before it became much more popular two years later as:
3. "Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira feat. Wyclef. This was probably my favorite song in 2006. Too bad Shakira didn't reallllly ask for permission from Rivera before sampling it. But it was OK for Wyclef in 2004 so it should have been fine right? Right. Come on let's go... real slow... don't you see baby asi es perfecto.
Let's go back a bit, to a time when sampling was REAL popular. I won't take us alllllll the way back to the beginning of sampling, because that's not the focus of what I'm doing right now. I just feel like sharing. SBI.
4. "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie. I don't really have a story about this one, except for that neither Freddie Mercury nor David Bowie received credits or royalties for what came in 1990:
5. "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice. Did you know his real name is Robert Van Winkle? That's just too bad. He wrote this song about his life in Florida, and when he manages to rhyme "bikinis" with "Lamborghinis," I want to move back to FL. Let's get out of here. word to your mother.
6. "Super Freak" by Rick James. I hadn't seen the music video for this until now, and it makes me nostalgic for simpler times. By simpler times, I mean the time when all you needed for a decent music video was a plain white backdrop and lots of glitter. This song makes me think of three things. (1) Little Miss Sunshine (2) "I'm Rick James, Bitch!" and (3) parachute pants. Why the parachute pants?
7. "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer. Every once in a while, I see a STOP sign that some amature graffiti artist amended with "HAMMER TIME." That makes me happy. Did you ever see the flashmob done to this song? That makes me happy too. Check it out here.
8. "Edge of Seventeen" by Stevie Nicks. This just goes to show that if you have access to a white tablecloth, you can do a Stevie Nicks impression. Try THAT at your next karaoke night, I know I will. I actually like this live performance best, but it's not on YouTube. It also really bothers me that Lindsay Lohan tried to cover this song. I mean I know they both did a lot of coke, but it's still not really okay. I also cannot believe NIcks allowed this next one to happen:
9. "Bootylicious" by Destiny's Child. What's really amazing is that Nicks not only condoned this sample, but actually appears in the music video! I wish I had the airbrushed "Destiny's Child" underwear that some of the guys are wearing. I love this video. It feels like a sexy Target commercial. I could watch it all day. And sometimes I have.
Speaking of Beyoncé...
10. "Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So)" by The Chi-Lites. This band was called The Chi-Lites. Like they really had any chance of success with that. This song peaked at number 82 on the charts in 1970. Nothing amazing but it's cool, it's funky, and it led to:
11. "Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z. Cool that Beyoncé and Jay-Z have been together for so long. I loved this song when it came out, and I still like it better than all that Sasha Fierce nonsense.
Okay the next one is a bit of a stretch, but work with me.
12. "The Last Time" by The Rolling Stones. Okay, so after you listen to this song, try to imagine it recorded by an orchestra. I guess sometime in the 60's, some musical experiment resulted in an orchestrated version of this song, and I think its pretty hard to make the connection between the two versions. This orchestrated version disappeared for 30 years, but resurfaced as:
13. "Bitter Sweet Symphony" by The Verve. Here's where sampling law gets real confusing: The Verve negotiated a license to sample the orchestrated recording, but apparently they used "too much" of the sample. What exactly is "too much"? I know on The Price Is Right, there's a game where you they show you increasing fake prices for a car, and when the price isn't right anymore, you're supposed to yell "THAT'S TOO MUCH BOB!" That's only for about $20,000 though... and the Verve lost a lot more than 20 grand on this song. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were eventually given songwriting credits, and when the was nominated for a Grammy, the nomination went to Jagger/Richards. The Verve is collecting 0% of the royalties for this song. How's THAT for Bittersweet?!
14. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" by ABBA. Don't you just love songs with a hidden message? This ain't one of 'em, but the blatantly obvious message is great. I mean, sometimes we really ARE just watching the late show alone, and all we want is a man after midnight. I feel that. Bonus points if you know what ABBA stands for.
15. "Hung Up" by Madonna. This was the first and only time that ABBA allowed sampling. This music video is pretty fierce too... Madonna is HOT despite her age. No wonder she could score with A-Rod and Jesus Luz. I read somewhere that she had broken her leg or something when filming this video, but she was hardcore and survived the shoot with lots of Vicodin. I DEFINITELY feel that.
The next ones aren't realllllly sampling, but I think this series is relevant.
16. "Fade to Grey" by Visage. This song sounds futuristic even today. Well not really, but I'm sure it sounded super futuristic coming out of the hi-fi under your Patrick Nagel prints. The video, however, is not only dated, but straight up TWISTED. The imagery will haunt my dreams for weeks. You may want to avoid this video if you're on any medications.
17. "One Word" by Kelly Osbourne. This isn't really a case of sampling, but the songs are VERY similar. There may have been a lawsuit, but there was an out-of-court settlement to give Visage a portion of the royalties for this song. This original version of the song isn't amazing, but I am all about the Chris Cox remix. This brings me back to 2006, dancing at Rage in West Hollywood. Good times.
18. "Stop! Dimentica!" by Tiziano Ferro. Also in 2006, this song was released in Italy. It hit #1 on the Italian singles charts. Also not a case of sampling, but sounds extremely similar (even sharing lyrical themes) to both Osbourne's hit and the original Visage track. Tiziano Ferro also recorded it in Spanish, a version I actually prefer, only because that's how it first came into my life, at a club night in Tijuana.
I saved the best for last.
19. "Wonderful Christmas Time" by Paul McCartney. When did McCartney get so... FUNKY?! This is unlike any other Christmas song I've ever heard. It's just so... funky. I don't know what other word to use for it. I always chuckle to myself whenever I hear it on the radio in December, because of what it was eventually used for. I am SURE this was unauthorized:
20. "Fast Food Fucking" by 1108 Thugz. So obscure that I could not even find this on YouTube, 1108 Thugz are definitely underappreciated. "Some bitches feel like a nut, some bitches don't. This bitch liked to take it up the butt and down her throat. I'm fuckin' all the bitches in the fast food biz'... they all want my balls in their mouth, and that's just how it is." You'll just have to go to their Myspace page and listen to this song. It's pretty much amazing, and it's available on iTunes. I actually recommend listening to everything they have ever recorded, especially "Toss My Salad." If you were actually a fan of the Christmas song... well I'm sorry for ruining it for you. I can't even what McCartney would say if he heard this.